Tom Cruise accepts the honorary Oscar with an emotional speech: “Making movies is not what I do, it's who I am”

On Sunday afternoon, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), also known as the Oscar Academyheld the 16th edition of the annual ceremony of the Governors' Awardsfrom Ovation Hollywood's Ray Dolby Ballroom.

The Governors Awards present the honorary Oscar to various industry figures. They are special AMPAS awards, designed to honor individuals for their outstanding achievements in film and their contributions to the cinematic arts and sciences. They are considered within the industry, as a prestigious recognition.

Those chosen to receive the honorary Oscar on this occasion were Tom Cruise, Debbie Allen y Wynn Thomaswhile Dolly Parton received the Jean Hersolt Humanitarian Award.

Upon receiving the honorary Oscar, presented by the Mexican filmmaker Alejandro G. –who directs Cruise in his next film– the legendary movie star gave an emotional acceptance speech, in which paid tribute to all the people who make cinema possibleas well as unifying power of the seventh art.

This is what Cruise said:

“Cinema takes me around the world. It helps me appreciate and respect differences. It also shows me our shared humanity, how similar we are in so many ways. And no matter where we come from, in that movie theater we laugh together, we feel together, we hope together, and that is the power of this art.. Y That's why it's important, that's why it's important to me. So making movies is not what I do, it's who I am”.

Cruise also talked about the origin of his love for movies:

“My love for movies started at a very young age, for as long as I can remember. I was just a little kid in a dark movie theater, and I remember that beam of light that crossed the room, and I remember looking up, and it seemed to explode on the screen. Suddenly, the world was so much bigger than the one I knew. And whole cultures and lives and landscapes unfolded before me, and that awakened something. It awakened a hunger for adventure, a hunger for knowledge, a hunger to understand humanity, to create characters, to tell stories, to see the world.. It opened my eyes. It opened my imagination to the possibility that life could expand far beyond the limits I then perceived in my own life.. Y That ray of light awakened in me the desire to discover the world, and I have been following it ever since.”.

Throughout his career, Cruise has been nominated for an Oscar four times.for best leading actor for Born on the Fourth of July (1989) y Jerry Maguire (1996), best actor in a supporting role for Magnolia (1999), already Best Picture as producer of Top Gun: Maverick (2022).

His extensive filmography includes major film projects such as Risky Business, Top Gun, The Color of Money, Rain Man, A Few Good Men, The Firm, Interview with the Vampire, Eyes Wide Shut, Vanila Sky, Minority Report, The Last Samurai, Collateral, War of the Worlds, Valkyrie, Oblivion, Edge of Tomorrowand sagas like Jack Reachery Mission: Impossible.

In October of next year, the project starring Cruise and directed by Iñárritu, which has not yet revealed its official title, will be released in theaters.

The Governors Awards are not televised, but winners are traditionally recognized during the Oscars ceremony. With this group in particular, that will happen at the 98th edition of the Oscar, scheduled to take place March 16, 2026 at the Dolby Theatre, reprising Conan O'Brien as host.